A Letter From Mommy For Gracie...At 2

April 5, 2009

Dear Little Miss Gracie Lou,

I can scarcely believe that it has been two years since I first held you, heard your cry for the first time as you let the whole room know how you felt about being out of your safe, warm little nest inside my tummy, how I knew right from the very first minute that a dream was coming true for me- a dream that turned out to be infinitely more abundantly wonderful than I could ever have asked for or even imagined. I loved everything about you right from the start- that little brown fuzz we called "hair", replaced with your beautiful blondish brown crazy hair that is almost always sprouting off the top of your head- I loved the way your eyes looked right into mine as if you were trying even from those first minutes to discover who I was- I loved how your newborn body just nestled right in next to me, as if you knew on some deep level that you were safe with me. Amazingly you still have the love of being close to me... as you are "Mommy's Girl" (you tell us that often) my little peanut is such a warm loving individual, you always have been and that has created such a closeness for us. Having you as my daughter was one of the really greatest experiences of my whole life. And now you are two! Gone forever is that little baby who stole my heart and took over our home- there are times I miss that small stage- but mostly, you are just a TON of fun now that you are TWO! I think two is going to be more Terrific than Terrible. :) I love how you talk to me now so fluently and tell me all about the world from your perspective. I thought it might be fun for you (and me!) to look back someday on what you are like at two years old, so here are some of the things I've learned about you.

Things You Can Do Now

-Feed yourself with spoon and fork, drink from a water bottle

-Speak in sentences

-Walk run, climb

-Go down a slide by yourself
-Color... well scribble!

-Go on the potty! (sometimes)

Favorite Things You Say:
-"Grease" AKA Grace
- GREEN... your FAVORITE color... the only one if you ask you!

-"That Funny"
-"I NEED Mommy" (instead of saying WANT...you almost always say NEED)

-"I NO LIKE!"
-"Mommy's Girl"
-"Ootz" (her version of OOPS!)
-"Bad Grease" (When you know you are being bad, you say BAD GREASE... yes you are currently calling yourself GREASE!!)

-"Bye Shoes" (etc) how you have to tell EVERYTHING goodbye!

-I hurt/I cold- I love the mixed up grammar you use! :)

Things You Love

-Spaghetti, pizza, cookies, carrots... of course DIPS are also so popular with you (ranch, nacho cheese, peanut butter!)
-You LOVE to eat!
-Your "KNEE" (your blanket... all other blankets are called blankets, duh!)

-The Outdoors

-Minnie Mouse or Wiggles

-Babies... you are oh, so motherly!

-Songs! You loved to be sung too!!

-Medicine... you love getting medicine! When Jacob has it, you have to too!

-Jacob & WHATEVER Jacob does... you have to do too! "I do it!" you tell us, you are so independent!

-Helping Mommy cook and "making suffing" in your own kitchen. You enjoy licking beaters and helping out like that!

-Abby (A-EE), or Sonny (any yellow lab!) They tolerate you so well.

Who You Are at Two:

-You are very warm and affectionate, love hugs and being close- but don't like being confined!

-You are unusually empathetic and compassionate: you always seem to have a "radar" for other people who are hurting around you and want to comfort them.

-You are really growing in independence and this great drive to do things by yourself. Sometimes getting shoes on is quite an ordeal because you want to do it yourself but don't quite have the manual dexterity to do it- and, I suppose, we are too often in a hurry!

-Although you have been generally a pretty compliant child, we are starting to see a bit of a stubborn streak- when you decide that you want to put your little foot down about something, there is just nothing that's going to move you! This will serve you well later in life... but does make life a bit hard at times when what you want isn't good for you and I have to say no! OR when I just want my way... I guess you are more like Mommy than we know!

-You're very social- generally more interested in the people in a room than the toys or other objects there. You often just watch other kids as they do things... at least for a minute before diving in!

-You don't really seem to crave the "stage" or the limelight of a large group of people- you're often shyer in a group than you are with a small number of people you know well. But you just light up with the affection and admiration of the people who really matter in your life.

And dear one, you are so extravagantly loved! Gracie, I hope someday you enjoy reading about yourself at this really exciting stage in life. I know we are in for a wild, fun ride from two to three and I'm excited!! I am so blessed to be your mommy.

All my love, Mommy